


Only in dreams

by Nonnie_mouse



Series: The boy with the bread verse [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-26 21:06:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2666390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonnie_mouse/pseuds/Nonnie_mouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow up to my work " the boy with the bread" the story  won't make sense without reading that first.</p><p>Peeta is pretty happy with his new life. If only his dreams would let him and Katniss be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The hunger games and all it's characters belong to Suzanne Collins, no slight is meant or monetary gain- I'm just playing with them!
> 
> Title taken from weezer's song "Only in dreams"

Katniss leaned against the doorway to her daughter's room, watching her husband and child as they snuggled together Peeta was awkwardly leaning on the bed and Maggie curled on his chest as they whispered secrets to each other. 

"Tell me the fairy story, Daddy." Maggie slurred sleepily, snuggling into Peeta's chest.

Peeta hummed softly. "Which one, dearest? The one with the bears? Or the one with the princess who does housework?" 

Maggie huffed with as much exasperation as a four year old could hold in her little body. " No, Daddy! THE fairy story! The one with the male witch from the past and the princess from now time."

Katniss could see a slight smirk form on Peeta's face "Ah, THE fairy story. Of course, how silly of me."

Maggie rolled her eyes "Yes, silly Daddy. Story, now. Please." Katniss had to laugh a little that the " Please" was added as an afterthought. Margaret Everdeen Mellark was definitely her daughter.

"Of course, my darling." Peeta smirked and gave Katniss a wink before launching into the much loved and often told 'story' of how they met. " Once upon a time ... That is how fairy stories begin, is it not, my darling?"

Katniss smiled as she slipped back into the hallway , with her daughter's exasperated "Yes, daddy!" And her her husband's deep laughter. Katniss entered the kitchen and began to clean up after dinner, half listening to the rise and fall of Peeta's voice, lulling their daughter to sleep. Katniss gently rested her hand on her slightly protruding belly - evidence that her already brilliant life was going to expand- and grinned. She really couldn't imagine her life being any better than this.

Little did Katniss know; this wasn't her story.

 

*****************

_Darkness, fire and smoke. That's all he could see. He tried to move from the haze, to take a breath but found himself rooted in the spot. He wriggled lightly, but felt his hands bound behind him tightly; felt them rub against rough wood. He opened his mouth to shout out; for Katniss, for anyone- but he felt his mouth fill up with smoke and all he could do was cough. He could feel the panic start to rise in his chest. He had no concept of where he was - he couldn't **see**. He thought he could hear a baby cry - Maggie? It had been years since Maggie had cried out like that, yet - Katniss was only three months into pregnancy with their second child, so it had to be Maggie. Peeta struggled again against the bonds that held him; tried to call out and find out what they were doing to his baby girl. Alas, nothing happened. He could feel heat starting to surround him. The smoke billowed around him: it was becoming so hot, he felt he could suffocate from it. Peeta started to gasp for air, and could feel himself start to panic when he heard footsteps coming through the darkness. He turned his head blindly towards the sound, getting ready to call out for help. His voice was stayed by the sound of a deep, long forgotten chuckle that Peeta had hoped he would never hear again. There was a voice that accompanied the chuckle. One that said "This is all you were good for- this is what you deserve. _Changeling_." Peeta started to panic as he felt heat lick up his legs. The footsteps faded away, and Peeta heard another voice call out to him, one that sounded distinctly like Katniss calling his name. Peeta closed his eyes and hung his head feeling trapped. This was all he had now._

_Darkness, fire and smoke._

Peeta jolted violently in his bed, gasping harshly and flailing his arms out wildly, narrowly missing smacking Katniss in the face. He blinked blearily up at her concerned face, momentarily confused as to why she was burning with him.

"Peeta?" Katniss reached a hand out to stroke down his face in a placating gesture that was just too much for him to take at that moment. He grabbed her wrist almost harshly, softening the action with a rueful smile a few seconds too late. 

"I am fine, love" Peeta murmured, using his hold on Katniss' wrist to leverage himself up to place a kiss on her forehead. " Just a dream. Go back to sleep." 

Katniss sleepily smirked at him " Need a distraction?"

Peeta smiled back " As tempting as you always are, Katniss, you need your sleep- and I think I need to calm my nerves, not excite my senses more if I wish to sleep at all."

Katniss grumbled a little, but let her head fall back onto the pillow. " You're no fun." She said as her eyes slipped closed once more. 

Peeta leaned forward and kissed her, letting his tongue pry open her lips and tangle with hers for a few breathless moments. " I think you will find I can be a lot of fun- just not at 2am when we both need to sleep so we can entertain our darling four year old ball of energy tomorrow. Sorry, today." 

Katniss grumbled lightly again, already slipping back into sleep. Peeta allowed himself one more kiss to her increasingly slack with sleep mouth, and got out of bed.

After quickly checking that Maggie was fast asleep, clutching her favorite toy to her chest, Peeta made his way to the kitchen. There, he hesitated, not really sure what he needed. He desperately wanted a drink - drinking water from the tap still felt strange, even after being in this time for five years- but drinking the rum that Katniss had bought him didn't feel right either. He was afraid drinking alcohol right now would make his restlessness from the dream more pronounced- which was the last thing he wanted to do. 

He finally settled on pouring himself some water, and sat at the kitchen table, spinning the glass around and around between the palms of his hands. He didn't know what to do- these dreams were getting more frequent- had been for the last month or so. He hadn't spoken to Katniss about them yet- not knowing how to bring up the subject. She knew his history, knew what it meant for him and had long accepted every part of him- but the dreams made him feel guilty. They made him feel helpless and trapped.

And, in some ways that he did not want to explore , some of the dreams made him feel **powerful**.

Peeta sighed and put his head in his hands. " Just a dream", he had told Katniss.

They were never " just dreams".


	2. October 1st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katniss and Peeta contemplate life and October in Salem, MA. Also the brilliance of bedtimes and baths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Disclaimer: The hunger games and all it's characters belong to Suzanne Collins, no slight is meant or monetary gain- I'm just playing with them!
> 
> Title taken from weezer's song "Only in dreams"
> 
> Thanks to chele20035 for the read through and suggestions \o/ 
> 
> This is very much a set up chapter.

Ever since she was a little girl , Katniss had loved October in Salem. She loved the 50 something degree weather, the greying skies and falling leaves. She loved her family town house that she and Prim had grown up in on Derby street, so close to all the attractions and work and shops. What Katniss especially loved was how much her town embraced their history and became America's Halloween town for the entire month. Every house was decorated with jack-o- lanterns and skeletons or witches; every person in town got into the spirit of the season. There were costume parties galore; not to mention the annual costume ball at Hawthorne Hotel, a site considered one of the most haunted in Salem. Places like The Chambers of Horror and the Salem Witch Village extended their hours on weekends to accommodate the influx of visitors.

Katniss especially loved work in October. The House of Seven Gables , as well as being the oldest wooden mansion in New England and the place Nathaniel Hawthorne penned his novel of the same name- it was said to be haunted by Susan Ingersoll -Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin and the person he was visiting when he was writing. Even though October meant longer shifts for her, she couldn't suppress the thrill of watching Delly- sweet, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth Delly- tell the story of Susan Ingersoll to enraptured guests. Or snicker lightly when Johanna would lightly pull on someone's coat to spook their already rattled nerves. It was invigorating, in a weird way. The way the city, her city, came alive with the creepiness and the harmless fun of All Hallows' Eve and embraced its' history. Plus, she couldn't deny it was fun fucking with tourists whenever possible. 

Katniss was especially excited about this year- the year the kids were actually old enough to start really getting into and appreciating the festivities that Salem had to offer. She was lucky that Maggie was so close in age to Finn and Annie's Nick and Madge and Gale's Daisy, and that the three of them were fast friends-even though they were as wilful and stubborn as any young children could be. She had heard the three of them chattering excitedly in half formed sentences about what they wanted to dress up as on the big day. Nick, very much his father's son, wanted to dress in something that would flatter his good looks, while the girls seemed to want to go for gruesome in their costumes. Maggie had even expressed an interest in dressing as Dorrie the little witch from Patricia Coombs' books - Katniss had already started getting together the " socks that never matched", and bought her a stuffed black cat that could serve as Gink.

This thought brought Katniss half out of her reverie and she frowned a little. The only thing she didn't particularly like about this season, was what it did to Peeta. The first two years that Katniss and Peeta had been together, Peeta had been preoccupied with learning the new way of life, relearning himself and how to be a father and a partner in a world so different to the one he knew. It was fortuitous that Finn and Annie were around, Katniss was pretty sure that it would have been almost impossible to help adjust Peeta to the " modern" way of living- Katniss was embarrassed to admit that she just didn't have the patience to deal with his questions and wide eyed innocence at times. How very small Peeta's world must have been in the time leading up to 1692- when his existence- his life- was cut short. It was still a little bit hysterical to watch Peeta's face screw up in concentration at the most simple things. One thing Peeta still had an almost instinctual knack for was baking - even though it took him a while to get the settings on a modern oven right- once he did, his food was divine. Luckily for them, because Peeta's baking was the only thing that kept them sane some days.

Katniss was pulled completely out of her contemplation by a quick clip to the head and a very frustrated voice in her ear.

" Hey, Doofus," Johanna said in an irritated voice " You've been staring off into space for the last fifteen minutes. You may have baby brain, but the tourists aren't going to annoy themselves. The customer is always right, and all that shit."

Katniss sighed and swatted Johanna away impatiently, knowing there was no use in fighting with her. Katniss looked at her watch , as discretely as she could. Only three more hours left of her shift and go home to her family. She sighed again and her hand twitched, Katniss willing herself to keep it by her side, trying to to convince her treacherous mind that counting the minutes would not make the time go faster. She couldn't wait for this day to end. 

***

Peeta bit the inside of his cheek to hide his grin as he watched his daughter's face screw up in concentration while she washed the beets and the kale with as much precision as a four year old was able to. Peeta loved staying home with Maggie while Katniss at work; especially when Maggie was so determined to ' help' with dinner. He loved watching Maggie light up when she completed her task, and how inquisitive she was as she watched Peeta cook or bake. She looked at Peeta as if he was the most important and wisest thing in her world- a feeling Peeta hoped he could hold on to for as long as she would let him.

Keeping one eye on Maggie as she slowly ran water over the kale leaves, her little pink tongue sticking out of her mouth, Peeta started on the rest of dinner. He pulled out the flour and salt he needed to make the pastry for the surprise dinner he had planned. Katniss had been working more lately, trying to give them a little ( what she called) "nest egg" for the baby, while she still could work. Peeta had work himself - but it was not a steady job; it was definitely one that he loved. When he was not working, he was spending time with his little girl. While Katniss stressed that this was the best situation for all involved, Peeta couldn't help but take to opportunity to surprise his wife, especially since he knew he had probably been a little worse than his best lately...

He hated this time of year. Peeta could feel the cold of the winter months looming, threatening to chill him to the bone. The days felt foreboding, and Peeta could not shake the feeling that he needed to prepare for winter - he remembered the days of famine and illness, huddling near a fire. He also remembered his mother being particularly vile during the winter months - forcing away the urchins that would turn up for a bit of bread with a sneer and a wallop to the head. Then there was how Salem celebrated All Hallow's Eve ....

"Fin-ished!" Maggie sing songed from the sink. She beamed proudly at Peeta and lifted her arms up towards him to be lifted from the plastic stool she was standing on to be able to reach the sink. Peeta lifted her up and spun her around, making Maggie let out a high pitched giggle.

"Did I do good, daddy?" 

Keeping Maggie in his arms and shifting her so that she was sitting on his hip, Peeta inspected the vegetable and greens in the sink. Maggie solemnly rested her head on Peeta's shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth, patiently waiting for her daddy's verdict on her work. Peeta waited a moment and then turned his head to look seriously into Maggie's eyes.

"I think..." Peeta said in a whisper " that they look good enough to eat." Peeta then proceeded to mock snap his teeth at the squealing Maggie who was now thrashing around in his arms, trying in vein to be released from his hold. Peeta carefully let Maggie slide down to the floor. 

"Can we watch My Little Pony, now?" Maggie asked, hopefully.

"Sorry, baby," Peeta answered, trying to put as much regret in his voice that he could muster about not being able to watch the adventures of Twilight Sparkle and her friends at that moment. " I need to finish cooking dinner for when Mommy gets home." He smiled and knelt down, looking into her eyes to get her attention. "But, you can watch two stories, and then the television goes off . You can draw a little until dinner time." 

Maggie pouted for a moment, considering the compromise, and then said "Can I draw something for Aunty Pim?"  
Peeta smiled " I am sure "Aunty Pim" will be overjoyed."

Satisfied, Maggie ran off towards the television to lose herself in the world of magical ponies. Peeta turned back to the kitchen bench and finished off the pastry for the pie he was making, trying not to get too taken with his task as not to make sure that Maggie did stop at two episodes.Outside the window, Peeta could hear the howl of a sudden wind. He shivered slightly. He hated this time of year.

 

*****

By the time Maggie was dutifully drawing a picture to present to Prim, Peeta was so involved in his cooking that the only indication Peeta had that Katniss had walked in to the house was Maggie's screech of " Mommeeeeeeee!" And the soft grunt and thud that Peeta could only guess was Katniss' head hitting the dining room table. Peeta checked the dinner, turned down the heat of the oven and wondered into the dining room to have his suspicions confirmed. There was Katniss , sprawled in one of the dining room chairs, her forehead resting on her arms on the table. Maggie was by her side, trying to squirm under her armpit and slide into Katniss' lap. After a few moments , Katniss lifted her head and pulled a happily chattering Maggie into her lap, and buried her face in Maggie's hair. 

"Bad day?" Peeta asked in a quiet voice. 

Katniss lifted her head from Maggie's hair and smiled. " Long day. Something smells amazing, though."

Peeta made his way to his girls and knelt next to Katniss, planting a kiss on her temple. " Lamb, garlic and rosemary pie with a beets and kale salad."

Katniss hummed happily and held Peeta's head still to kiss him properly. " I think I'll keep you." She whispered against his mouth.

" I helped!" Maggie chirped from Katniss' lap. Katniss gasped " Did you??" Maggie shrieked happily as Katniss dug her fingers into Maggie's side. " Well, then; I'm just going to to have to keep you both." 

Peeta smiled and left a giggling Katniss and Maggie in the dining room. He may hate this time of year, but there were moments he could not help but think as perfect. Anything to shake the cold away.

***

Dinner was a symphony of happy little moans from Katniss and babble about the day's activities from Maggie, who proudly displayed the picture of a rainbow that she had drawn for Prim. Peeta smiled serenely and let it all wash over him, including Katniss' pointed comments that the only thing that would make the dinner better would be some red wine. Peeta left Katniss to take over bathing and bedtime duties, preparing the rest of his surprise for Katniss as she did so. 

While Katniss put Maggie to bed, Peeta snuck into the bathroom to start running a bath. He couldn't help but grin to himself as he heard Katniss softly singing Maggie to sleep. He loved listening to Katniss sing, however rarely she graced the world with her voice. Slowly but surely, Katniss' voice softly faded, and Peeta heard the floor boards creak slightly as Katniss made her way down the hallway. Before Katniss could call out, Peeta stuck his head out of the bathroom and beckoned her to him with a crooked finger. Katniss gave him an inquisitive look, but came to Peeta without question. Peeta wordlessly handed Katniss a mug of hot chocolate he had made while Katniss had been bathing Maggie, and bowed low, indicating the steaming, slightly lavender scented bath behind him. 

"M' lady." 

Katniss stared at him, wide eyed. "Okay. What have I missed?"

Peeta raised an eyebrow. " I am not sure what you mean?" 

"Come on, Peeta. What have I missed? It's not my birthday, it's not YOUR birthday. So, I must have missed some sort of anniversary or ancient ritual that I'm not aware of.."

"You are bearing my child, Katniss. I was not here the last time that happened; had no idea that it was going to happen." Peeta slowly moved closer to where Katniss was standing and slide his hands down to rest on her hips. He leant in to lightly kiss her neck. "Is that not enough to celebrate? That you are here with me, have bore me a beautiful child, and will give me another?" Katniss made a soft noise in the back of her throat and tilted her head to the side; but Peeta pulled himself away. He gently took the hot cocoa from her hands, and set it on the side of the tub. He then reached for Katniss' shirt, and tugged it over her head. Peeta unhooked her bra and let his hands run over her breasts, playing lightly with her nipples until Katniss gave out a little gasp. Peeta then ran his hands down to the little swell of her belly, where he let himself indulge in petting there, before moving to slide Katniss' work skirt down her legs, and then her panties. When his task was complete, Peeta looked up into Katniss' eyes meeting her half lidded gaze, and allowed himself a smirk. He leaned forward and kissed her languidly - pulling away only when Katniss tried to slip her tongue into his mouth and take control of the kiss. 

"Your bath is getting cold." He whispered, inches from her mouth, and Katniss grumbled darkly at him. Not to be distracted, Peeta held her hand and led her to the bath, helping her step over the rim and handing her the hot cocoa once she settled down with a groan.

"Thanks," Katniss said, letting her body slide further into the water and drinking the cocoa almost in one go. She placed the mug out of harm's way and sniffed the air lightly " Lavender?"

Peeta nodded and picked up a wash cloth, dipping it into the water and then running it over Katniss' breasts and down the length of her body in what he hoped were soothing strokes. " Delly said that it should be okay, with the pregnant, in small doses - she said it's relaxing." 

Katniss groaned and let her head fall back against the tub. " Please don't talk about Delly right now."

Peeta laughed, and let the wash cloth run down, and then back up the length of Katniss' legs. " is now a bad time to mention that Annie was the one who gave me the recipe for the salad?"

Katniss groaned again and roughly pulled Peeta towards her, kissing him hard. Peeta flailed a bit, his hand trying to find something to latch onto for a minute. He soon found his equilibrium and deepened the kiss. He let go of the wash cloth in his hand, and, never breaking the kiss with Katniss, felt around for her leg. He slowly ran his hand up it, and when he found his target, slipped his thumb between her folds. 

" Is this okay?" He whispered into the kiss, pressing his thumb into her. Katniss groaned and bit his bottom lip in answer, pushing into his hand. Peeta pulled away slightly, trying to meet her eyes. "Katniss?" 

Katniss groaned again, this time in frustration. "Yes, you idiot- it's more than okay. Come back here."

Peeta obliged, kissing Katniss again, and starting to rub slow circles against Katniss with his thumb. Katniss started to buck against his hand in earnest after a few minutes gasping into his mouth and clutching at his shoulders. It was all Peeta could do not to start rutting into the side of the bath tub, he was so hard; Katniss was so wild and beautiful and all his. Peeta pressed his thumb in hard and rubbed a little harder as he felt Katniss tighten her grip on him and her body stiffen in anticipation of her orgasm. Katniss choked out a muffled "Peeta!" Before he felt her body relax back into the water and her kisses became less frenzied. They stayed like that for a few long moments, until Katniss pulled away and slowly blinked at Peeta.

" Wow. I could get used to that." She murmured softly. She then wrinkled her nose. "Okay, maybe not this part. The water's gross and cold. And you're all wet." Peeta blinked and looked down at his shirt and pants, not having realized how messy they had gotten, and not really caring, especially not with the heated way Katniss was staring at him.

"What do you say we take this to the bedroom?" Katniss said, slowly standing up, water sluicing down her body seductively. Peeta swallowed audibly.

"This was for you, Katniss. I wanted to do something special for you."

Katniss smiled. "And , you did. Now, what would make this even more special, is if you took me to bed, and let me take care of you." Katniss stepped out of the bath and pulled Peeta up into a standing position, completely unmindful of Peeta's rapidly soaked clothes. She ran her hand down to where Peeta's cock was tenting his slacks , and lightly squeezed until Peeta couldn't do anything but buck into her hand. "That's what we do, right, Peeta? "

Peeta nodded wordlessly, and let a dripping wet Katniss lead him back to the bedroom.

At least he would be warm, for tonight.


End file.
